Sacrilege case: Judicial Magistrate confirms he recorded accused Mohinder Pal Bittu’s statement

The sealed cover confessional statement of Mohinder Pal Singh, alias Bittu, a sacrilege case accused, recorded under Section 164 of CrPC was opened in a Chandigarh court today. Bittu was murdered in Nabha jail in 2019.

The statement was opened after the court allowed an application of Punjab to summon Gurbhinder Singh Johal, then Judicial Magistrate First Class, Moga, as witness. Johal confirmed that he recorded Bittu’s statement.

Today’s hearing pertained to an FIR registered after rioting erupted in Moga in 2011. In the state’s application, the Punjab Additional Public Prosecutor told the court that during investigations, Bittu had filed an application to record his statement under Section 164 of CrPC. His statement was recorded by Johal.

He said the state could not accept the Judicial Magistrate as a witness to prove the statement of Bittu.

However, counsels of the accused opposed the application on the ground that the witnesses proposed to be examined have neither been cited as witnesses in the main or supplementary challan.

They alleged that Bittu was illegally taken into custody by the Punjab Police from Himachal Pradesh. They said that his statement under Section 164 of CrPC recorded during the investigation does not relate to the facts of this case and the same is not admissible against the co-accused.

However, after hearing the arguments, the court allowed the application for examination of the witness through video-conferencing.